Weapon focus

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Weapon focus is a factor affecting the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Weapon focus signifies a witness to a crime diverting his or her attention to the weapon the perpetrator is holding, thus leaving less attention for other details in the scene and leading to memory impairments later for those other details. Elizabeth Loftus, Yuille and Burns, have all been associated with studies showing the existence of a weapon focus effect. According to a 2001 survey of eyewitness experts, 87% found the effect sufficiently reliable to form the basis of expert testimony in criminal trials.

[edit] References

Kassin et al. (2001). On the "General Acceptance" of Eyewitness Testimony Research: A New Survey of the Experts. 56 American Psychologist 405. PDF
Kramer, T.H.I., Buckhout, R.I., Eugenio, P.I. (1990). Weapon focus, arousal, and eyewitness memory. Law and Human Behavior.
Loftus, E.F., Loftus, G.R., & Messo, J. (1987). Some facts about weapon focus. Law and Human Behavior, 11, 55-62. Abstract
Mitchell, K. J., Livosky, M., & Mather, M. (1998). The weapon focus effect revisited: The role of novelty. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 3, 287-303. PDF
Pickel, K.L. (1998). Unusualness and threat as possible causes of "weapon focus," Memory.
Steblay, N. M. (1992). A meta-analytic review of the weapon focus effect. Law and Human Behavior.